Bastrop County seeks to join state's Countywide Polling Place Program to give voters more options

Colleen DeGuzman, Austin American-Statesman
·2 min read

Bastrop County voters might be able to cast their ballots at any polling location in the county in the upcoming election.

The county recently sent an application to be part of the state's Countywide Polling Place Program, which would allow residents to vote in any one of the county’s proposed 17 polling locations for the upcoming primary election and still receive a ballot for the precinct in which they live.

Kristin Miles, the county's elections administrator, explained to county commissioners during a meeting Monday how being part of the polling program would expand voters' voting site options.

A requirement to join the state’s program is to use direct recording electronic voting systems, which the county purchased in October. Those machines are slated to be delivered next week, Miles said.

Additionally, counties under the program have to use a computerized voter registration system. Bastrop County has tracked ballots online since 2008.

Miles said computerized tracking is important because it strengthens communication between polls and prevents residents from voting twice.

The elections department is proposing five changes to the county’s current polling locations:

  • Smithville City Hall to the Smithville Recreation Center, 106 Royton St., Smithville.

  • Cedar Creek United Methodist Church to Cedar Creek Tax Office Annex, 5785 FM 535, Cedar Creek.

  • Elgin Public Library-Civic Center to the Elgin Recreation Center, 316 N. Texas 95, Elgin.

  • Bastrop County Precinct 1 Road Barn to Bastrop Fire Department Station No. 4, 1432 N. Texas 95, Bastrop.

  • First Baptist Church to Ascension Catholic Church, 804 Pine St., Bastrop.

The department is also proposing to eliminate five polling locations:

  • Lake Thunderbird Community Center, 104 Thunderbird Drive, Smithville.

  • Bastrop County ESD No. 1 Station 5, 1525 FM 812, Cedar Creek.

  • Lost Pines Cowboy Church, 334 Roemer Road, Elgin.

  • Heart of the Pines VFD, 109 Green Acres Loop, Bastrop.

  • Bastrop Fire Department Station 2 (Tahitian), 120 Corporate Drive, Bastrop.

With the changes, the number of polling locations in the county would go down from 22 to 17.

The recommendations were made by the county’s Election Department in collaboration with the appointed Vote Center Advisory Committee — a group consisting of precinct officials and organizations representing minority voters and voters with disabilities.

“These changes were to accommodate a potential influx of voters if we were to move countywide (polling)” Miles said.

The application to be part of the state’s polling program was sent to the Secretary of State on Monday, and Miles said it could take up to a month to get a decision on whether the county’s application will be approved or rejected.

“The reason that we chose to apply is voter convenience,” Miles told the Bastrop Advertiser. “... This would eliminate the need for voters to have to vote in one specific location, thus making it easier for the voter to cast their ballot."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Bastrop County seeks to allow voters to cast ballots at any county polls